The Rookie
by Gatorgirl4521
Summary: The penguins of Madagascar get a shock when a new penguins is introduced to their habitat. What will the team make of her? R&R and find out! Story much better than summary!
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story on FanFiction. Yay! :) Hope you enjoy it!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins Of Madagascar!**

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It was an ordinary day for the penguins. Skipper was calling out orders to his troop as they did their daily training. As usual, everyone had perfect timing with Skipper's commands.

"And kick, punch, twirl, and stop. Great job boys, take ten." Skipper told his troops. Private, Kowalski, and Rico relaxed and went about their habitat as usual until Alice started to come around the corner with a crate on a dolly.

"Skipper! Alice is coming!" Private called out just in time to allow Rico to swallow the dynamite he had coughed up. Just then Alice came up next to the penguin's habitat with the crate that was now shaking erratically.

"Alright, get in there you little nuisances." Alice murmured under her breath as she picked something up out of the crate and threw it into the water surrounding the penguin's habitat. All of the penguins don't know what to make of it. They all just stare at the spot where the object Alice threw into the water landed. After a few moments, a penguin emerges from the water. The new penguin jumps onto the shallow bank and turns in Alice's direction.

"Yeah, just run away! The next time I get out of here your dead! You hear me? Don't you walk away from me!" The angry intruder yelled at Alice even though she was already gone. The penguin obviously didn't see Skipper and his stunned crew.

"Uh…Kowalski?" Skipper stuttered, obviously caught off guard by the young female penguin in their habitat.

"Um…Well…" Kowalski, like everyone else, was unsure of what to make of the new girl penguin in their habitat. Just as Skipper was going to ask what she was doing in their territory when the girl turned to see them.

"Oh!" The unknown girl said, slightly apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't know there was anyone else here."

"Um…that's okay." Skipper said speaking for the group. "Well uh…so…who exactly are you?"

"Oh yeah, sorry," The girl said, still looking guilty. "My name's Ariel, and you might be?"

"Well first tell us why you're here." Skipper said, now concerned with security.

"I would tell you but I can't because-"

"Because you're a spy? An assassin? …A spy?" Skipper accused, cutting Ariel off.

"No, because I don't know why I'm here." Ariel said calmly as she looked around the penguin's habitat and the surrounding habitats.

"What do you mean you don't know-"

"What is with all of the commotion? The king - which is me – is trying to take his royal nap!" Julien yelled at the penguins as he walked into the their habitat once again.

"Of course." Skipper whispered to himself.

"Wait just one moment…" Julien said now counting the penguins. "One…two…three…four…......five? What is with the one extra number which is five?"

"None of your business. Now get out of here!" Skipper said now pushing Julien towards the exit. Julien pushed Skipper away from him.

"Of course it is my business! I am king so everything is my business!" Julien said to Skipper.

"Well _this _isn't! So get out of here!" Skipper said still trying to get Julien out.

"Did you not hear me? EVERYTHING is my business because I am king so you need to shut up a little." Julien said still not moved by Skipper. Skipper knew he couldn't win.

"Fine! Stay if you want! Just stay out of my way, I've got some business to take care of." Skipper said not even looking in Julien's direction, now completely focused on a nervous Ariel. "So where was I?"

"Um, you were asking me why I didn't know why I'm here." Ariel said glancing in Julien's direction.

"Oh right…so what do you mean you don't know why your here?"

"Well what I mean by I don't know why I'm here is I don't know why I'm here!" Ariel yelled.

"Alright clam down, calm down!" Skipper said sensing the edge in her voice. "Well where did you come from?"

"I came from Antarctica." Ariel said a little calmer now.

"So how exactly did you get all the way here?"

"Well I was in Antarctica and these men came out of nowhere and grabbed me and threw me into a cage. Next thing I know I'm in the back of a van with about twelve other penguins. We were in that van for at least four or five days. Then we were all separated and put on different planes. I was on that plane for maybe three days. When the plane landed I was taken out of my cage and put in a wooden box carried into another car. Then I'm carried here…um, so where exactly is here anyway?"

"Well here is New York city." Skipper said, compelled in the penguin's story. "So…um…I guess that you'll be living here from now on."

"I guess I am. So if I'm going to live here, I would like to know my new roommate's names."

"Oh yeah, Well I'm Skipper. And this is my crew, Kowalski, Rico and Private." Skipper name the other penguins in order pointing to them as he named them.

"And I am you handsome King Julien!" Julien said butting into the penguin's conversation. "Feel free to bask in my glory!"

"Okay…" Ariel said having to lean back because Julien was right in her face.

"Goodbye ringtail!" Skipper said gesturing towards Rico. "Rico, show Mr. Royal pain out."

"Fine!" Julien said as he headed back for his own habitat. "I need to get back to my royal nap anyway." When Julien was gone, Ariel turned to Skipper.

"What is he, king of the Squirrels?"

"I think I'm going to like you. Let me show you around."

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**I hope you guys like it so far! Please stay tuned for chapter 2!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay so here it is, chapter two of The Rookie. Enjoy!**

******DISCLAIMER: I ****DO NOT**** own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

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"And these are the sleeping quarters." Skipper said to Ariel as he finished the tour of the HQ. "And that's pretty much the whole HQ."

"Man, this place is amazing!" Ariel said still looking around the huge room. "Man it must be cool to live in such an awesome place."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Skipper replied.

"Okay, so let me make sure I got all your names right." Ariel said now turning back to the four other penguins. "Okay…Skipper, Private, Kowalski, and Rico. Right?" Ariel said pointing to each penguin's as she spoke.

"Yep. Prefect." Skipper said, impressed with Ariel's memory. "Well I guess it's time to turn in team."

"Okay Skippa." Private said heading for his bunk. "Wait a minuet Skippa. Where's Ariel going to sleep?"

"Hmm, I guess your right. Well she can have-"

"She can have my bunk." Kowalski said interrupting Skipper mid sentence.

"Um…Okay Kowalski…" Skipper said confused about his sudden interruption but just shook it off.

"Oh you guys don't have to give up your bunks for me." Ariel insisted. "I'll just sleep on the floor somewhere."

"No, it's only fair if you get to sleep in a bunk tonight." Skipper said. "Tomorrow I'll have Rico carve another bunk in the wall for you. It's only one night, nothing to get concerned over."

"Well…okay. Only if Kowalski is sure he wants to give his bunk to me." Ariel said looking back to Kowalski. "Are you sure you want to let me have your bunk? You know it's not necessary. I could-"

"No, I positive. I'll be fine on the ground for one night."

"Okay…but if there is no bunk for me by tomorrow I'm sleeping on the ground because you said it was only for tonight." Ariel said turning to Skipper.

"Okay fine but there _will _be a bunk for you tomorrow. I guarantee it." Skipper said now turning back to the rest of him team. "Okay, now that that is settled, lets get some sleep."

And with that, the whole team went to their bunks except Kowalski who went to sleep in the corner of the HQ.

"Good night boy-…team." Skipper cut when he realized his team was no longer just boys.

Ariel laid in Kowalski bed smiling when she realized that she was included in the term team. Then she looked over to where Kowalski was sleeping in the corner and smiled even wider.

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**Sorry this chapter is so short. It's really just a filler, but it's still a very important filler! ;D**


	3. Chapter 3

**All right so here is chapter three of The Rookie. For those of you people who have been waiting for the romance the wait is over. **** Enjoy! **

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After two weeks of training, Ariel started making real progress. She could go though an obstacle course with ease, fight blind folded, and could defeat all nine bowling pin ninjas in less than a minuet. But as training went on, Skipper started to notice a pattern. After every days training, Ariel would go down to the HQ for dinner and Kowalski would be right at her side every step of the way. Then Kowalski would sit next to her for dinner. And then very late every night Ariel would get out of bed and go outside and just stare at the sky. Skipper found this very odd so he decided to ask both Ariel and Kowalski about it.

"Kowalski! Could I speak to you alone?" Skipper yelled before the day training began.

"Of course Skipper." Kowalski replied wondering what it was all about.

Once they were both outside the HQ Skipper turned to Kowalski.

"Why have you been spending so much time with Ariel? Every second of every day you're with that girl! What your problem Kowalski?"

"Um…well…you know…uh…I'm just, you know, making her feel welcome. So she can get to know me better." Kowalski lied.

"I don't think that's it." Skipper said. "Kowalski you can tell me anything, you don't have to be so nervous."

"Uh…well…you see Skipper…I…kind of like Ariel." Kowalski admitted looking down at his feet.

"Aw Kowalski! That's nothing to be ashamed of! I know how that feels! When I first liked Marlene I was scared to death of her! Then I finally asked her out and I felt much better knowing that she liked me too and we could still be friends. You should talk to her and tell her how you feel."

"You really think so? I mean what if she doesn't like me the same way? I wouldn't want to ruin our friendship."

"But what if she dose? Then you'll never know. And it's no big deal if she doesn't. But she'd be a fool if she turned you down, Kowalski."

"I guess your right, Skipper. I guess I've got to ask her. But until I do, could you not talk to anyone about this?" Kowalski said looking around to see if anyone was listening.

"Of course, Kowalski. Your secret's safe with me." Skipper said looking amused with Kowalski's panicked expression.

"Thanks Skipper." Kowalski said heading back to the HQ.

"Hold on a second their Kowalski. I've got another question for you." Skipper said stepping next to Kowalski.

"Yes Skipper? What is it?"

"Do you know why Ariel has been sneaking out every night just to stare off into space?"

"No Skipper. I haven't even noticed."

"Okay then, thanks Kowalski. Dismissed." Skipper said. And with that Kowalski went back down into the HQ.

"_Hm…that's strange." _Skipper thought to himself as he headed back into the HQ. His first question had reasonable answer but what about his second question. He would have to ask Ariel about it.

After the days training was over, Skipper decided it was a good time to talk to Ariel.

"Ariel! Could you hold on for a second?" Skipper asked before Ariel and Kowalski went down into the HQ.

"Sure Skipper." Ariel said then turning to Kowalski. "Meet you down there." Then Kowalski went down into the HQ without her. Ariel walked over to Skipper. "What's up Skipper?"

"Well I was going to ask you why you've been sneaking out every night and doing absolutely nothing."

"Oh…well Skipper…I'm just kind of homesick, you know. I mean you guys are great and New York's an awesome place but I just miss the cold Antarctic air and the wide open spaces. I'm just kind of sick of all the concrete and confined spaces."

"Well it's okay you're a little homesick but you need to be getting a full nights sleep so you can train efficiently."

"I guess your right." Ariel sighed. "I guess I need to get used to New York." Ariel said looking at the surrounding zoo. "Oh Skipper! There was something else I wanted to talk to you about." Ariel said, snapping back to attention.

"Yes Ariel?"

"Well…I wanted your opinion on something."

"Okay then."

"Well…Let's say…hypothetically…that there is this girl."

"Okay…" Skipper said not seeing were this was going.

"Okay, so let's say this girl like this guy…hypothetically of course."

"Right."

"So this girl didn't know how to tell this guy that she liked him. But she really, REALLY liked him so she didn't want to turn him down because they were so compatible. She like science, he like science, she was smart, he was smart and you know so and so forth. So she really wanted date him but she didn't know if he liked her the same way and she didn't want to ruin their friendship. So how would handle a situation like that?"

"Uh…" Skipper wasn't expecting that. Ariel had talked so fast that Skipper couldn't even interject at all. "Well I think the best way to handle that kind of situation would be that the girl should just tell the guy that she liked him, just to know if the guy liked her too. Because if she never asked, she would never know."

"But what if Kowa- I mean the guy didn't like the girl? Then their whole friendship would be ruined."

"Better to loved and lost than to never loved at all."

"I guess your right, Skipper…well thanks for the advice." Ariel then turned and went back into the HQ to have dinner with Kowalski. Skipper stood in place grinning to himself. After a few minuets he finally started back for the HQ. Right before going back into the HQ, he stopped and laughed to himself.

"Oh, boy this should be good."

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**Yay! Chapter three done! What going to happen next? Who knows…oh wait, I do! **** Stay tuned to find out for yourself!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, this is chapter three and this is where it gets interesting! I also took the P.O.V. of Skipper, Kowalski and Ariel, which I have never done before. Leave a comment and tell me how I did! :D Anyway, enjoy!**

**DISCAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins Of Madagascar!**

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Later that night, Kowalski was pacing the floor of the HQ with his white board and marker trying to come up with options of how to talk to Ariel. He already eliminated the option of not talking to her at all. And what did that leave him with? In his opinion, not much. Just then Skipper came in after going over to Marlene's habitat to ask her opinion on the situation…hypothetically of course.

"Alright team! Time to turn in!" Skipper yelled once he got to the bottom of the ladder. Kowalski stopped writing, got in his bunk, and started writing again. Rico who a been sitting against a wall with his Barbie doll got up, leaving his 'girlfriend' behind and got in his own bunk. Ariel and Private who had been watching T.V. got up and did the same as Kowalski and Rico. Skipper turned out the light and jumped in his own bunk. "Goodnight team!"

The next morning at 0700 hours, once everyone was up, Skipper told everyone that they could take the day off. Once Kowalski heard this, he went right back to his white board and began writing once more. Private turned the T.V. on and when The Detonators came on, Rico joined him. Skipper went about cleaning the HQ, as he did on every day off. Ariel immediately got back in her bunk and went back to sleep because she had not gotten any sleep at all that night because she couldn't stop thinking about Kowalski.

**ARIEL:**

_I can't like Kowalski, can I? How could this have happened? I just can't like Kowalski. It's all in my head, yeah that's it. It's just all in my head. I'm just stressed out because off all the training. That's it! I don't like Kowalski. It's just in my head………OKAY! I like Kowalski! No, I don't like Kowalski…I love him…_

**SKIPPER:**

_Hm…I wonder if Kowalski will take my advice about Ariel. _He glanced over at Kowalski who was still writing frantically on his white board. _Yeah, he will…knucklehead…_

**KOWALSKI:**

_Well I could just walk up to her and just ask her on a date. No I can't do that…well what if I…no I can't do that either. How about I ask her to meet me outside the zoo so I can talk to her alone…GAH! Why is it so hard to do this?!? Why can't I just walk up to her and yell, 'I LOVE YOU, ARIEL!' …Wait…why don't I just do that? That would be the easiest way out…that's what I'll do. I'll tell her tonight…but maybe I won't yell…_

That night, at 2400 hours exactly, Kowalski got out of his top bunk and jumped to the floor. Kowalski took a deep breath and thought to himself _'It's okay Kowalski. It's just Ariel…but what if she doesn't like me…maybe I should wait…No! I need to do this.' _And with that, Kowalski bent down to see into Ariel's bottom bunk…but there was something wrong…Ariel was gone. Kowalski looked into Ariel's empty bunk and saw Skipper's recorder laying neatly in the middle of it. Kowalski picked it up and pressed the play button. It was Ariel's voice.

"I'm so sorry guys…but I don't belong here. I have to move on…I'm…sorry…"

The recorder dropped to the floor.

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**GASP! What happened to Ariel?!? Well guess what…you have to stay tuned to find out! Muwhaha! …Please remember to review! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's chapter 5. Sorry I didn't update earlier, I was out of town. At least I got it here. Enjoy! **

**DICALIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

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"Kowalski! Speak to me, man!" Skipper yelled as he shook Kowalski back and forth. When Kowalski dropped the tape recorder, it had woken up all of the other penguins. They all had jumped out of bed only to see Kowalski in the middle of the floor, frozen in place, with the tape recorder at his feet. And for the past three minuets, Skipper had been trying to get Kowalski to say something. "KOWALSKI!"

"She's gone."

"Who's gone?!?"

"I can't believe it…she's gone…and I never said anything to her…"

"Who's gone Kowalski?!?"

"Ariel…she's gone…" Kowalski said, still not moving from his place.

"What…" Skipper said in astonishment. "Are you sure Kowalski?"

"She left…a tape…" Kowalski said pointing to the tape recorder on the floor. Skipper picked it up, hit rewind, then play. Kowalski cringed as Ariel voice was replayed. The same words from before played once again, but there was a part Kowalski had not played.

"I'm leaving tonight on a cargo ship heading for Antarctica…I will miss all of you and I wish I could stay…but I just, can't…I'm sorry…and don't try and follow me because by the time you hear this, I will be long gone…I'm sorry guys…" _*Click*_

All four of the penguins stood in shock from listening to the tape. After a few minuets of silence, Private turned to Skipper.

"Well Skippa…What are we going to do?"

Skipper sighed

"…Let her go…"

"But Skippa! We can't just let her go! She's part of the team now! What about the penguins' credo? Never-"

"Swim alone." Skipper finished. Skipper looked over to Kowalski, who had tears in his eyes. Skipper sighed. "Well…what do you want to do, Kowalski?" Kowalski looked over to Skipper in shock. Skipper was asking him for his opinion on what to do? Kowalski wiped the tears from his eyes.

"…Skipper…we have to go after her…" Skipper look at Kowalski and saw something in his eyes…fear. Skipper had never seen fear in any of his men's eyes. And that was the deciding factor. "Well men, it looks like we've got a job to do!" A slight smile came across Kowalski's face as gratitude towards Skipper. "Okay, so the first thing we need to do is find another boat bound for Antarctica."

"We could search the Internet and find a boat schedule." Private suggested.

"Great idea Private! Looks like we'll need help from our simian friends."

**_________________**

Once the penguins woke up Phil and Mason and made it into Alice's office where the computer was, Phil began to type what Skipper said. As soon as the boat schedule came up, Phil began to sign.

"The USS Bravery departs from New York tomorrow at noon and is going on a two week trip strait to Antarctica." Mason translated.

"El excellante!" Skipper said. (A/N I hope I spelled that right!) He turned back to his troop. "Alright men, I want you all to be ready for this long trip by 0800 tomorrow. Rico! I want you to pack enough food rations for a two-week trip and back. Private! I want you to pack essential items for the trip. Kowalski! Pack anything we may need on the trip or to find Ariel." All of the penguins saluted and started to go back to the HQ. Skipper walked next to Kowalski on the way back. He put his flipper on Kowalski's back. "Don't worry, Kowalski. We'll find her." Kowalski looked at Skipper's face. "Promise." Kowalski gave a small smile of confidence.

"Thank you, Skipper."

"Anytime, Kowalski. Anytime."

**_________________**

At exactly 0800 hours, the whole team was ready to go on their long trip to Antarctica. Skipper had just finished to check off everything on his long list of supplies. The whole team…well, minus one…began to load all the supplies into their little pink car.

"Well, that's everything. Ready to go men?" Skipper said facing his team. They all looked at each other.

"Ready as we'll ever be Skippa!" Private said for everyone.

"Good! Then let's go!" And with that, everyone jumped into the car, with Skipper in the driver's seat. Skipper floored it and the car took off. Skipper tried to stay on the sidewalks that had the least people, which was kind of hard in busy New York City. But after twenty minuets of dodging people feet, they finally made it to the port where their boat was leaving. They cruised around the dock for half an hour looking for the USS Bravery. Finally, after looking at so many different boats, they found it.

There was a ramp leading up to the main deck of the huge ship so they just drove the car up the ramp and onto the ship. They looked around to see if any people were near by. Luckily, the ship's deck was empty. Skipper drove the car up next to a small lifeboat. Rico coughed up a long wooden plank so they could get the car into the lifeboat. Once the car was in the lifeboat, Rico re-swallowed the piece of wood. Everyone jumped into the lifeboat and then covered the top.

At exactly, twelve a clock that day, the USS Bravery pulled out of the port and started it's two week journey to Antarctica. All the penguins were silent as the ship started out to sea. All of the penguins sat in a circle around their car, except Kowalski who sat at the very end of boat by himself. His thoughts were spinning around him, but one thing in his mind stuck out the most. _'We're coming Ariel.'_

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Ariel looked out over the open sea from the little crate she hid in. All of a sudden she bust into uncontrollable sobs. And she just cried for what seemed like forever. Once the sobs calmed down, Ariel wiped the tears from her eyes and thought of Kowalski. And then she started crying again.

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**Kowalski to the rescue! Stay tuned to see what happens next!**


	6. Chapter 6

**And now, here's chapter 6! Hey people who actually take time to read this, I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this story. Leave a comment and tell me what you think! Anyway, Enjoy! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

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The two weeks on the USS Bravery had to be the two longest weeks in Kowalski's life. Every day in the small dark lifeboat seemed to go on forever. He hardly ate anything and said even less. Actually, he didn't say anything at all. None of the penguins had said more than twenty words since the trip had begun. And to make matter worse, after six days in total darkness, the penguins had lost count of how many days were left in the voyage. So when the huge ship came to a stop and all the people started to get off, it came as a surprise. After ten minuets of people getting on and off the ship, it finally went silent. Skipper peeked out the top of the lifeboat to make sure the coast was clear.

"Alright men, it's all clear. Let's move." Skipper whispered as everyone jumped out of the boat and onto the deck in perfect formation. Private turned to Skipper.

"Skippa? Shouldn't we bring the car with us?"

"No. Just leave it here. We have exactly twenty-four hours until this boat leaves and we need to back before then or else we'll be stuck here. So we have that long to find Ariel and get back here. If we don't find her, we'll have to leave without her."

Skipper's words now had the whole team worried. Only twenty-four hours to search this huge continent for one penguin. This was going to be harder than they expected.

Once the team had gotten of the ship and on land, they made a base camp near the ship. They decided to take shifts patrolling the surrounding area for Ariel. The first shift was Kowalski and Skipper. The sun was just beginning to set once the pair made their way in to the frozen desert. Skipper and Kowalski had been searching for half an hour when Kowalski decided to talk for the first time in two weeks.

"Um…Skipper?"

"Yeah Kowalski?"

"You said that we have exactly twenty-four hours to find Ariel before the ship leaves right?"

"Right."

"Well…I've made a decision that if we don't find Ariel in time I'm going to stay here."

"Hm…Kowalski, I don't think I can let you stay here by yourself."

"Skipper I'm not asking you, I'm telling you." Kowalski said as firmly as he could mange. Skipper looked over to Kowalski. Never had anyone stood up to him, especially not his team. Skipper thought about what to say next. But honestly, he had no idea of what to say. After two more minutes of silence, Skipper turned back to Kowalski.

"Kowalski…if you want to stay here, then we'll all be by your side."

"…Thank you Skipper." And after that, the pair was silent for the rest of their patrol. Once they got back to base camp, Skipper turned to Rico.

"Rico, you better get the car off the ship. I think we're going to be here longer than I thought."

**_________________**

Ariel walked aimlessly around the huge frozen lake just looking for anyone she happened to run into. She had been wondering around since her she had landed, which was eleven hours ago. She was beginning to lose hope in finding her old colony. She decided to try and find shelter for the night.

After wondering the ice for another half hour, she saw a small cave in the side of a cliff. She started running for it when all of a sudden the ice broke out from beneath her feet. She hit the water and was in shock for a few moments before she was able to climb back on the ice. She got back to her feet, dazed. _'What could have caused that?'_ she thought to herself. She turned around only to see a huge leopard seal right in front her. She stood frozen in her tracks. The seal lunged towards Ariel and she flew back ten feet. She lay on her back, still frozen from shock. All of a sudden she came to her senses and tried to get up, but it was too late. The seal was now on top of her and she couldn't get free. As she struggled to get free, she thought herself _'I'm so sorry Kowalski.' _Then she closed her eyes and just waited for the pain.

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**Sorry about all the cliffhangers, they're just so fun to write! :D And sorry for the shortness! And sorry I didn't update sooner. And sorry my apology is so long! XD Well anyway, remember to review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay so here's chapter 7. This is where it gets really fun to write, and in my opinion, fun to read! So, Enjoy! :D**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

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The leopard seal bit Ariel once, twice, and just when it was going to bite her again, the seal reared up and started running in a circle. Ariel was in bad shape but was still aware of this and tried to get to the cave she had seen earlier. Just when she was beginning to get away from the seal, its back flipper hit her in the head, and everything went black.

**_________________**

Kowalski clung to the back of the seal with all of his strength. The seal did all it could to shake him off but he still held strong. He just had to hold on long enough until Skipper, Private and Rico caught up.

Private and Rico had come back to the base camp, before their shift was over, completely out of breath saying that they seen Ariel out on a frozen lake and that she was being attacked by a seal. Without a word Kowalski began running as fast as he could in the direction the pair pointed. And now he was on the back of a seal. Was he crazy or something?

And now he was starting to get dizzy. The seal thrashed and bucked and spun around, trying everything to get him off. Kowalski held on for dear life. All of a sudden the seal flipped backwards, nearly crushing Kowalski. He jumped and landed square on his feet right in front of the seal, which was now on it's back. The seal got back up and took a swat at Kowalski. Kowalski slid underneath the seal and came out behind it. Kowalski stood ready for battle as the seal turned around to see him.

"Kowalski, duck!" It was Skipper. Kowalski got down on the ice just as Skipper, Private and Rico threw a huge fishing net over the seal. The seal thrashed under the net for a while, but after a few minutes it finally lay still on the ice, exhausted from fending off its attackers.

Kowalski got up off the ice and joined the rest of the team. The four penguins just stood looking at the huge seal that they had taken down. For a group of four penguins, that seemed impossible. Finally Skipper turned to Kowalski.

"Kowalski, that's the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do." Skipper put his flipper on Kowalski's back. "Don't ever do it again." Kowalski smiled down at him but then remembered something that they had forgotten.

"Ariel!" Kowalski yelled as he pulled away from Skipper and ran towards where Ariel still laid, unconscious. Kowalski knelt next to her on the ice. She had slash marks down the side of her face and another set on her chest. Kowalski could feel tears forming in his eyes. And just for that moment, Kowalski didn't care about anything. He didn't care if Skipper saw him cry or if he was going to be stuck on Antarctica forever. He didn't give a care about anything anymore. The only thing that mattered right now was Ariel.

"Ariel? …Ariel? …Ariel can you hear me? …Ariel?!?" Kowalski held his breath, just waiting for a response, but after a minute, nothing. Kowalski felt a tear stroll down his face.

"Kowalski? We need to get her back to base camp to care for her." Skipper said. All Kowalski could do was nod. He carefully picked Ariel up a started walking back the base camp.

_________________

After four hours, Ariel was still unconscious but she aware of everything around her. A least she thought she was aware of things around her. Maybe it was her imagination.

"Don't worry solider. She'll be alright." That sounded like Skipper. That couldn't possibly be real, could it?

"Well, what if she's alright but then she doesn't like me like the way I like her. Then this whole expedition would be for nothing." Now she knew that everything she was hearing was just a dream. There's no way someone like Kowalski would say something like that about her. He wouldn't come all the way across the world for her. Now getting along without Kowalski was going to be even harder now that she'd heard his voice again.

"Kowalski if we hadn't come here that seal would have torn her to shreds. I think that's a pretty good reason." All of a sudden it felt like her face and chest were on fire. The pain was so great that she let out a groan.

"Ariel? Ariel can you hear me? Ariel if you can hear me make a sound." Ariel didn't know if she should humor her hallucination. She decided to just pretend that Kowalski was really at her side so she groaned again.

"Skipper I think she's waking up!" But Ariel didn't want to wake up. That meant she would have to leave Kowalski again. And that would be worse that the pain she was suffering from now. Ariel finally decided the less time she had with her dream Kowalski, the easier it would be to leave him. So she fluttered her eyes open.

'_I must still be dreaming.' _ Ariel thought, because when she opened her eyes she was looking up into Kowalski's face. _'This can't be real. This can't be real. There's no way it's real.' _ But there was only one way to see if it was real.

"Kowalski?"

"Ariel. I'm so sorry."

* * *

**Sorry about the shortness again. The next chapter should be longer! :D Hope you liked this chapter! I think it's my new favorite! Leave me a comment on what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 is now here! I couldn't help but put this up right now because it's so good! This is where it gets real emotional and lovey-dovey! This chapter wins the awarded for most romantic chapter! Yay! Enjoy the love mush! :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

* * *

"Kowalski? Is that really you?" Ariel whimpered.

"Yes Ariel. It's really me. Don't worry you're going to be alright." Ariel stared up into Kowalski's face in disbelief. Kowalski was at her side. He had come all the way across the world. Why? He couldn't have…come for her? Could he? No that was impossible. No way he would come all that way for her. If not for her, then why?

"Wha-what are you doing here Kowalski?" Oh it felt good to say his name again.

"…We came for you Ariel." Ariel looked up at Kowalski in shock. Did she just hear what she thought she heard?

"You…you what?"

"We came to get you." Ariel felt like she was going to pass out. Kowalski had come for her. Well, the team had come for her. But who cares? Kowalski was with her now, and that's all that mattered to her right now.

"Why?"

"Well…we'll talk later, okay? Right now you need to rest. You got hit pretty hard." He'd lost her.

"What?"

"You were attacked by a leopard seal and it hit you pretty hard. So you should get some sleep."

"I was…attacked…by…a leopard seal? I don't…remember…" And then it all clicked. She remembered the ice breaking out from beneath her feet. The ice cold water. The huge seal looming over her. The pain. The blackness. And now she was here. Just then the pain came back to her. She whimpered in agony.

"Ariel?!? Are you alright?" Kowalski asked, now deeply concerned.

"…Uh…yea- yeah. I'm fine…it's just…my chest really hurts."

"Oh yes. The seal bit you there so it should be sore for a while." Ariel looked down at her chest and saw a gauze bandage wrapped around where the pain was. Ariel reached up to the side of her face and felt another bandage. Kowalski had cared for her. Ariel felt her heart flutter. Ariel looked back up a Kowalski.

"So I guess you're going to make me lay down for a while, huh?" Kowalski smiled at her.

"I guess you're right." Ariel smiled back at him. He had the cutest smile. She could feel her heart speeding up. But then she realized that Kowalski would have to go soon. It felt like her heart dropped down two hundred feet. She groaned again.

"Ariel?"

"It's just…my chest again." Ariel lied. The real reason was heartbreak. "Well I guess I should, you know, get some sleep."

"Yeah…I guess you should."

"Okay…goodnight Kowalski."

"Goodnight…Ariel." And Ariel went in to darkness again.

________________

_Ariel started running down a dark tunnel. She ran and ran as fast as she could but she never could the other side of the tunnel. All of a sudden Ariel was in a brightly light room. It was the penguins HQ. Ariel spun around, looking, but not quite sure of what she was looking for. All of a sudden Kowalski was standing in front of her. He didn't say anything. He just stood there. Ariel tried to call his name but no sound came out. She tried to scream for him but all there that came out was silence. Then out of nowhere Ariel felt like she had been punched in the chest. She looked down and saw blood rushing down her chest. She tried to scream again but to no avail. She looked back up to Kowalski who was slowly disappearing. Ariel reached out for him but he just faded into nothing. Ariel could feel the tears in her eyes. And then she realized, that he was gone for good. Then she fell to the floor._

"KOWALSKI!"

"Ariel? What happened? Are you okay?" Ariel looked to her side and there was Kowalski. She was back in the base camp in Antarctica. It had all been a dream. More like a nightmare. Ariel was breathing heavily. She felt tears falling down her face. She tried to come back to earth but she was still shaking.

"…I'm…I'm okay." Ariel tried to say but it came out more of a sob. "I…just…had a…bad dream." Kowalski looked down on her with a warm smile on his face. He wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's alright Ariel. It was just a dream." Kowalski stroked Ariel's face softly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. Not really…um…Kowalski? Will you sleep next to me? Just for tonight. Please?"

"Hm…" Kowalski looked over where Skipper, Private and Rico were sleeping. "Alright, but just for tonight." Kowalski went to get the blanket he had been sleeping on and put it next to Ariel. Ariel smiled at him.

"Thank you Kowalski."

"Of course Ariel." And the two went to sleep together. Skipper opened his eyes to look over at the two. He smiled at the pair._ 'Good luck Kowalski.'_

_________________

Ariel opened her eyes to a bright and sunny morning. She blinked a couple of times and looked to where Kowalski had slept last night and immediately started to panic. He wasn't there. Ariel looked all around the camp for him but she still couldn't see him. She couldn't see anyone. She started hyperventilating and her heart started to sink. Tears formed in her eyes as she tried to get up but she couldn't because of her wounds. Ariel couldn't hear anything anymore because of her heavy breathing. She franticly looked around her again but she was still alone.

"Kowalski? …KOWALSKI!"

"Ariel?!?" Ariel drew in a quick breath when she heard Kowalski's voice. She turned her head to see Kowalski running towards her. Her breathing retuned to normal but her heart rate kept going at it's fast pace. After what seemed like far to long, Kowalski finally made it back to her. "Ariel? Is there something wrong? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay it's just…I got scared because no one was around. I thought you guys left." Ariel felt one last tear run down her face.

"Oh Ariel, it's okay. We were only gone an hour or so to go fishing." Kowalski noticed that Ariel was still shaking a little bit. Kowalski leaned down to her level and put his flippers around her. Ariel was surprised Kowalski would do something like that but she ignored the weirdness of it and put her flippers around him. _Now_ she was going to pass out. It felt so good to close to him with his flippers around her. A tear of pure joy fell off Ariel's face as she tightened her grip on Kowalski. She didn't ever want to let go. She knew she would have to eventually but she didn't think about that. All she thought about was how good Kowalski smelled even though he was just in the salty Antarctic Ocean.

Kowalski pulled back with a stunned look on his face. Kowalski thought a little hug would be just a nice little gesture to comfort Ariel, but it was much more than that. It was electrifying. Never had he felt so alive then when he was so close to Ariel. It was a sensation he never felt before. It was like someone knocked all the wind out of him and then got struck by a bolt of lightning. He had no idea how he was going to get along anymore with Ariel not without going into a coma. That's just it. He wouldn't be able to go another day without her. It was now impossible. Kowalski took a few deep breaths. As did Ariel.

"…Um…Ariel?"

"Yeah Kowalski?"

"I have to tell you something." Ariel held her breath.

"What is it?"

"…Ariel…I love you. I've loved you since the first day you showed up in New York. I've just been to shy to talk to you. And I'm just now realizing, I can't get along without you. There is no way on earth I can go along without you, so if you don't like me the same way, I might as well be dead." Okay, _now_ she was going to pass out. Ariel stared up at Kowalski. Then she remembered that she had to breath. She started to breath so heavy that she started to get light headed. She stared up at Kowalski for one moment longer.

"Kiss me you fool!"

* * *

**Not so bad if I do say so myself! Actually I think it's pretty damn good! :D Best lovey-dovey chapter in the history of lovey-dovey chapters! Anyway, remember to review and tell me how AWESOME this chapter is! (I'm sorry if I'm getting cocky I just love this chapter so much! This is my new, _new_**** favorite chapter!)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9 everyone! I'm not quite sure about this chapter. I might still edit it…hm…I guess I have to wait till I get some reviews! :D Enjoy!**

**WARNING: Ratings may vary!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

* * *

Kowalski bent down closer to Ariel and he pressed his beak to hers. And like that, Kowalski and Ariel were flying. Ariel put her flippers around Kowalski's head and pulled him as close as she could. Ariel felt like she could be here forever. She knew she couldn't, but a girl can dream can't she? Just then Ariel remembered Skipper and the others were still fishing and would be coming back soon. As much as she hated to, Ariel pulled Kowalski away. Kowalski didn't seem to like it too much himself.

"Kowalski." Ariel asked breathlessly. Man, she forgot to breathe again. "Kowalski what about the others?"

"Oh yeah." Kowalski turned his head in the direction where Skipper, Private and Rico would be coming back from. "Oh well. They won't be back for a little while."

"Good." And Ariel pulled Kowalski closer once more but then her chest started to hurt again. She pulled back quickly and put her flipper on her chest.

"Ariel? What's wrong?"

"My chest again. Maybe we should wait till I'm in better shape to do that."

"I guess your right." Kowalski said, disappointed. He sat up. "Well do you want me to get you something?"

"No I'm good. Just please stay here. Okay?"

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." Kowalski stroked Ariel face. After a minute or two, Ariel thought of something.

"Kowalski? I've got a question for you."

"Go ahead."

"Well, you said I was attacked by a seal, right?"

"Right. Where else would you get this?" Kowalski ran his flipper across Ariel's chest.

"Okay, but if the seal did that, why didn't it kill me?" Kowalski laughed to himself.

"Because I was crazy enough to jump on it's back to save you."

"You saved me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ariel stared up at Kowalski. He saved her life. He risked his life for hers.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"I knew that. But if there was a chance you'd be safe, I would do anything it would take." Ariel looked up at him. He really did love her. She could feel tears in her eyes. But for the first time in a while, they were tears of happiness. Kowalski reached down to wipe the tears away.

"Oh Ariel. It's alright." Kowalski brushed her face again. "Everything's going to be alright." Just then Kowalski heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned to see Skipper, Private and Rico coming back from fishing. Kowalski waved at them as they got closer. Kowalski turned back to Ariel who was smiling. He sighed. "They're back."

"Yep." Ariel looked around Kowalski to see the three approaching. "So?"

"So, what?"

"Are you going to tell Skipper that we are officially together?"

"I guess I have no other chose."

"No, you don't." Ariel smiled wider at him.

"Okay…well I'll be right back." Kowalski said getting up.

"Wait! Don't leave!"

"I would like to talk to Skipper alone."

"But Kowalski!"

"I'll only be a minute." Kowalski bent back down and gave Ariel a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."

"Okay." Ariel said, defeated. She watched as Kowalski went to meet up with Skipper. She sighed. _'How could it get better than this?'_

"Kowalski! What happened to you? You said you were going to check on Ariel and you never came back." Skipper barked as Kowalski approached.

"Yeah about that. Skipper could I talk to you alone?"

"Sure Kowalski. Private, Rico, go ahead without me." Both soldiers saluted and made their way back to the camp. Once they were far enough, Skipper smiled at Kowalski.

"So how'd it go with Ariel?"

"What do you mean?"

"I saw you sleeping next to her last night. And I know you were just talking to her about your feelings for her. So, how'd it go?"

"How did you know all of that?"

"You're not that hard to read Kowalski. So tell me how it went already!" Kowalski smiled back at Skipper. Then he looked over to where Ariel was talking to Private.

"It went great Skipper."

"Good. Now lets get back to camp." Skipper put his flipper on Kowalski back as they walked together. As they got closer Kowalski pulled away from Skipper and ran back to Ariel.

"Told you I'd be back soon."

"Not soon enough."

"A little impatience this morning are we?"

"When it comes to you, I'll always be impatience, so get used to it." Kowalski smiled and sat down next to her. Skipper finally made it back to the camp and smiled at the couple. Then he turned back to Private and Rico.

"Private! Rico! Start packing up our supplies. We've got to catch that boat tonight." Kowalski stood back up and looked at Skipper.

"What about me, sir?"

"I think Private and Rico can handle it." Skipper winked at Kowalski and Kowalski gave him a salute then sat down next to Ariel again.

**_________________**

After an hour or so of packing, everything was ready to go.

"Alright team! The ship should be leaving at 2100 hours so we have exactly-" Skipper was interrupted by a ship's horn blowing. All the penguins looked over to the ship and all of the people were getting on! "Scratch that! We need to get on that boat now! Rico! You drive! Kowalski! Get Ariel! Come on, we gotta move!"

All of the penguins began to run around trying to get everything ready to go. Kowalski got over to Ariel and kneeled down to get her.

"Kowalski?" Ariel said as he picked her up.

"Don't worry Ariel. We'll make it." Kowalski got in the passenger seat of the car with Ariel still in his lap. Skipper and Private jumped in the back and Rico got in the driver's seat.

"Rico! Floor it!" Skipper yelled. And the car took off. They could all see ship just ahead. They were so close.

"We gonna make it!" Private cheered. Just then the ramp leading up to the boat began to rise up. Ariel buried her face into Kowalski chest. Skipper stood up in the back of the car and saw a bank of snow right in front of the ramp to the boat.

"Rico! Head for that snow bank! Everybody hang on!"

* * *

**Oh no! Will the penguins be able to make it to the boat? Or will they be stuck on Antarctica forever? Stay tuned to find out! (And remember to review!) :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**So here we go with chapter 10! Double digits, baby! WOOT! But, sadly, there should only be a few chapters left. :'( Still don't know exactly how many are left but well find out as we move along. Anyhow, Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

* * *

The car hit the snow bank and flew ten feet up into the air. It seemed like time slowed down when the car was airborne. But after what seemed like five minutes of hang time, the car made a smooth landing on the ships deck. Everyone took a deep breath once the car came to a stop. Skipper looked around the deck for their hiding spot.

"Rico, drive the car over there." Skipper whispered as to not draw attention to them. Rico pulled the car next to the same lifeboat they had hidden in on the way to Antarctica. Rico coughed up the wooden plank and propped it on the lifeboat. Skipper got in the drivers seat of the car and drove the car into the lifeboat. Private and Rico jumped in the boat and Kowalski walked up the ramp because he was still carrying Ariel. Once Kowalski and Ariel got in, Skipper and Rico closed the top.

**_________________**

Later that night, Ariel got quite a yelling at by Skipper. She kind of listened…but not really.

"How could you abandon the team like that!?! Right in the middle of you're training too! And now look at you! You're hurt! You won't be able to train for weeks now! What do you have to say for yourself?!?

"…Huh? …Uh yeah. I'm really, _really _sorry Skipper. I know it was foolish of me and it will never happen again." Ariel said with slight sarcasm. She knew Skipper wasn't really mad at her. He just needed to blow off some steam. But Skipper didn't take the sarcasm well.

"I should put you on maintenance duty for so long you won't remember the last time you weren't cleaning up!" Ariel cleared her throat and pointed to her gazes.

"…Well if you weren't hurt you would be on maintenance duty for a _long _time!"

"Yeah, yeah Skipper. You keep talking, I'm gonna get some sleep." Ariel scooted next to Kowalski and rested her head on his shoulder. Skipper gave a quick chuckle at Ariel's lack of attention.

"Well I guess we all should get some rest. It's been a long day." Skipper said turning his attention to the rest of his team. "Goodnight team. Oh and, welcome back Ariel." Ariel glanced back at Skipper.

"Thanks Skipper."

**_________________**

This time the two weeks seemed to fly by. It seemed like they had just got on the boat when it was time to get off.

Once the coast was clear on the boat, Skipper drove the car down the plank once more and everyone else got in the car. Skipper drove the car off the boat and onto the dock. He swung the car around and headed back for the zoo.

Skipper swerved back and forth around and between people feet. After almost hitting many people's feet, the team finally made it back to the zoo. Ariel put her flippers around Kowalski, happy to finally be back…home. She sighed.

"Home, sweet home." Ariel said. Kowalski smiled at her.

"Home, sweet home." He agreed. Ariel smiled back. She still couldn't believe that Kowalski really did love her. Everything was just too perfect. It just couldn't get any better.

Skipper pulled the car into a secret entrance and put it in park. Everyone got out and went into the main area of the HQ. Kowalski put Ariel down her bunk.

"Well…what do we do now Skippa?" Private asked.

"I guess we'd better get out there so the people can see we're back. I bet they've been wondering were we've been."

"I guess you're right Skippa." Private looked over at Kowalski who was still standing by Ariel's bunk. "Well what about Ariel?"

"She can and _must_ stay here. She needs to heal as soon as possible. So everyone else hit the water." Skipper said. Private and Rico started to head for the ladder up to their little platform. Kowalski turned to Ariel.

"I've got to go. I'll be back in a little while."

"I'll be here."

"Come on Kowalski!' Skipper yelled from above. Kowalski turned and climbed up the leader to join the others. Ariel watched him until the fish bowl lid closed. Then she was alone. It was completely silent except for the ticking of the clock on the wall. Ariel sighed.

".......I'm bored......and lonely......" Ariel sighed again. "It's gonna be a looong day."

_________________

The zoo clock rung nine times, indicating that the zoo was opening. Skipper, Kowalski, Rico, and Private stood ready for the crowds that came flooding into the zoo.

"Cute and cuddly boys. Cute, and cuddly." Skipper said, setting back into routine. Just then Alice came around the corner and saw the penguins, right where they usually were. Alice scratched her head.

"Where have you guys been? …Oh well." And with that, Alice went along with her normal duties. Skipper turned his head to watch her leave.

"Idiot."

* * *

**YAY! They made it back hardly unnoticed! HA HA HA! I just thought of adding Alice in there because **_**someone**_** was bound to notice that they were gone for over a month! Or maybe not! XD Remember to review! :D**


	11. Chapter 11

**And here's chapter 11! I like this chapter because it's got a dollop of Skilene. But…this is the second to last chapter. :'( Well anyway, Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

* * *

When the zoo clock tolled the hour, all of the people began to make their way out of the zoo. Once the last of them had gone, Kowalski dashed down the ladder to the HQ. Ariel looked out from her bunk to see Kowalski coming towards her. She sighed in relief.

"_Finally!_" Ariel yelled, glad that Kowalski was back. "It seemed like you were out there all day!"

"That's because we were." Kowalski snickered.

"…Well yeah but it was a long time for me to be all by myself!" Ariel whined. Kowalski rolled his eyes.

"Well now you don't have to be all by yourself." Kowalski bent down to Ariel's bottom bunk and grabbed her flipper. Just then Skipper, Rico and Private came down the ladder and into the HQ. Kowalski and Ariel hardly took notice and just continued to stare into each other's eyes.

Skipper rolled his eyes at how oblivious the new couple was…kind of like him and Marlene. Then he remembered that he should go see her since he had been gone for a month.

"Team! I'm going over to Marlene's. You have the rest of the night off." Private and Rico smiled, happy that they could finally get some time off. Kowalski and Ariel, again, didn't take much notice.

Skipper jumped out of the fish bowl entrance and made his way over to over to Marlene's. He walked into the tunnel like entrance of Marlene's habitat and saw that she was sweeping the floor and her back was to him. Skipper smiled as he snuck up on Marlene. He put his flippers over her eyes from behind.

"Guess who." Skipper said. Marlene gasped. She whirled around and hugged him.

"Where have you been!?! I've been so worried!" Marlene pulled back to see Skipper's face.

"It's a _long _story." Skipper sighed. Marlene smiled deviously.

"I've got time."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

**-----------------**

"So how long are you gonna make me lay here?" Ariel asked. Kowalski pulled out his abacus.

"Well according to my calculations, you wounds should heal in about…nine days." Ariel rolled over and yelled into her pillow but then realized that that wasn't a good idea because her chest began to sting.

"…Ow…" Ariel said but her pillow muffled it so no one really heard her.

**-----------------**

After six more days of being tied to her bunk, Ariel was allowed to start walking around but was still forced to wear the gauze. But she was still happy she could be with Kowalski again. And after two more days, she could get her bandages removed.

"Kowalski." Ariel whispered, trying to wake him up. It was five o' clock in the morning but not five o' clock in the morning of just any morning. Today was the day Ariel was going to have her bandages removed and she couldn't wait any longer.

"Kowalski." She whispered again. She climbed halfway up the ladder so she could see into Kowalski bunk. "Kowalski." She poked him with one flipper and held on to the ladder with the other. But Kowalski was still fast asleep. "Kowalski!" She whispered a little louder, getting annoyed. "KOWALSKI!!!" She yelled.

Kowalski woke up with a start and his head flew up and hit the top of his bunk. At the same time, Rico woke up and fell out of his bunk and onto the floor. Private screamed and hit his head on the top of his bunk as well. And Skipper jumped out of his bunk in formation. Ariel looked down at the mess she'd caused.

"Sorry!" Skipper looked up at her, very annoyed.

"What in the name of clam chowder was that for?!?" Skipper yelled as he helped Rico up.

"I wanted Kowalski to take my gauze off." Ariel said as she looked back at Kowalski, who was rubbing his head, and smiled. Skipper looked over at the clock.

"At five o' clock in the morning?!?"

"Well yeah…technically it has been nine days so I wanted him to take them off." Ariel smiled hopefully at Kowalski again. "So will you?"

"I guess so, but why so early?" Kowalski asked as he jumped down from his bunk.

"The sooner, the better." Ariel said as she jumped down as well.

"Alright, fair enough. Well…I'll need some scissors." And with that, Rico coughed up a pair of scissors. "Thank you Rico." Kowalski said as he took the scissors from Rico. "Alright Ariel. You're gonna need to stay still while I cut the bandages off. Okay?"

"Okay." Ariel said as Kowalski began to cut the bandage on her chest off. To tell the truth, Ariel was a little nervous about get her bandages removed. She was afraid that she might be horrible scared for life. But it was to late to stop it now. Kowalski began to unwrap the bandage from Ariel's chest. Ariel looked away as the last of the bandage came off.

"Well it looks like the injuries on your chest healed perfectly." Kowalski said. Ariel snapped her head back to look at her chest. It looked like there had never even been huge cut there. She sighed in relief. Kowalski smiled at her.

"Okay, so now lets take the off the one on your face." Even though the cuts on her chest had healed, Ariel was still a little nervous about the ones on her face. Kowalski began to pull the bandage off of her face. She felt much better now that she could look into Kowalski's eyes. Finally, the last of the bandages came off and Kowalski inspected where the cuts were.

"Oh…" Kowalski whispered. Ariel's eyes widened. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Why? What is it?" Ariel asked franticly.

"It seems that the cuts on your face didn't heal properly."

"Well…how bad is it?" Ariel whimpered.

"Well, it's not too bad." Kowalski said. He handed Ariel a mirror. Ariel stared into the mirror and saw three, slightly jagged, white scars going all the way down the left side of her face. She traced the light white marks down her face and sighed. They weren't too bad. They were hardly visible under her feathers. But still, they were scars she would probably have for the rest of her life because of a stupid mistake she had made, the mistake to run away from her one and only true love. Ariel looked back to Kowalski and smiled.

"Well I think they gives me character." Kowalski smiled back, happy she wasn't upset. Ariel looked over to Rico. "And now me and Rico match." Everyone laughed at Ariel's comment and she turned back to Kowalski and put her flippers around him. Kowalski smiled wider and put his flippers around her too. Ariel smiled deviously behind Kowalski's back and pulled back to see him.

"So, when's our first real date?"

* * *

**OOOOO, Kowalski's gonna go on a**_** real**_** date! That should be fun! Well I hope you liked that chapter. Well now we only have one chapter left. So the good news is, we have one more chapter to go! Yeah! But the bad news is, we have only one more chapter to go…sigh…Oh and by the way, I've never wrote any Skilene so if you could please review and tell me how I did on that, that would be great! :D **


	12. Chapter 12

**And now for the finale, chapter 12! This chapter is more like an epilogue but oh well. I think it's the longest chapter in the whole story! Yay! Oh and by the way, the sequel to this story is now up! The title is 'Memories Come and Gone'. Go read it now!!! Just kidding....w****ell anyway, Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own The Penguins of Madagascar!**

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"Marlene, are you sure about this?" Ariel asked from behind a changing screen.

"A hundred percent. Now come on, we're gonna be late." Marlene said. She was wearing a black, knee length spaghetti strap dress with a red rose pinned to the top. She'd decided that that would be the best thing for a double date.

After the girls had convinced Skipper and Kowalski to go though with the double date, they'd all decided that Ariel and Marlene would help each other get ready, and Skipper and Kowalski would help each other get ready. So Ariel had been at Marlene's for the past seven hours, trying to pick out a dress for each of them. And even after hours of convincing, Ariel wasn't sure of the dress she'd pick out.

"Alright…but what if-"

"Ariel, enough with the 'but what if' stuff. That dress is perfect and I'm sure Kowalski won't mind what you're wearing anyway. Now just come out already!" Marlene heard Ariel sigh from behind the changing screen but Ariel still stepped out from behind the screen.

She was wearing a dark red, floor length dress with ruffles going all the way down the dress. It flowed perfectly all the way down to the floor, like a waterfall frozen in time. And around Ariel's neck was a gold chain with two interweaved hearts hanging from it. Marlene stared at her in awe.

"Well? …How do I look?" Ariel asked self-consciously.

"Oh my gosh." Marlene said still, amazed at how good she looked.

"I knew it. I'm gonna change." Ariel said as she turned to back behind the changing screen. Marlene caught her shoulder.

"No, I meant, oh my gosh you look amazing." Marlene said pulling Ariel back out from behind the screen.

"You really think so?"

"Of course I do. Now let's go. We gotta meet the guys before they leave without us." Marlene said while pulling Ariel out the door.

**_________________**

"Okay Skipper, how do I look?" Kowalski asked as he tied on a black bow tie. He was wearing a black tux jacket with a white under shirt. Skipper was wearing the same thing except he had a white jacket, white bow tie and black under shirt.

"You look great Kowalski." Skipper said as he put his flipper on Kowalski's back. "Are you nervous?"

"A little bit."

"There's nothing to be nervous about Kowalski. Just be yourself and everything will be alright."

"Well what if I run out of things to say?"

"I don't think that'll happen but if it does, just make light conversation until you find something to talk about. You got it?"

"I got it."

"Good. So are you ready to go?" Skipper said. Kowalski took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Let's go." Skipper and Kowalski started to make their way over to the oak tree they decided to meet the girls at.

**_________________**

"Are you nervous?" Marlene questioned as walked over to meet up with the boys.

"Ya know what? I am. I've never been nervous about going on a date before, so this is a first."

"So you've had a date before this?" Marlene asked, now curious.

"Oh yeah. I was very popular back in Antarctica. All the boys in my colony wanted to date me but I turned most of them down."

"So what happened to the ones you didn't turn down?"

"All of them were either idiots, manipulators, or they were trying to make someone else jealous. Most of them were idiots." Marlene laughed.

"Well it sounds like you've had a pretty rough love life."

"Yeah, it's been pretty rough."

"Well I'm gonna take a guess and say you were the dumper."

"Most of the time, a couple of times I was the dumpie. And it was always a stupid reason they would dump me. One of them was because I was three minutes late for a date."

"Man, that must have been hard."

"Well, then it seemed pretty harsh then. But now that I look back at it, I don't care at all. None of those guys mean anything to me anymore."

"Well it's a good thing that you found a great guy this time." Marlene said. She smiled at Ariel and Ariel smiled back. They were silent for the rest of the walk until they saw Skipper and Kowalski standing under the tree, waiting for them. Marlene leaned over to Ariel "Good luck." She whispered.

"You too." Ariel whispered back. The two friends walk together towards their dates. Ariel was a little overwhelmed at how nicely Kowalski looked in his tux. She thought of how bad she must look compared to him. Kowalski thought just the opposite.

As soon as Kowalski saw Ariel, he immediately regretted what he was wearing. She looked like a princess that had stepped right out of a fairy tale. He couldn't believe that she was his date. And at that moment, Kowalski believed in miracles. She was just so perfect and he'd earned her love. While he was in complete awe, he still was filled with fear. He was probably going to make a huge fool of himself. Kowalski was now glad that this was a double date, because he knew he wouldn't have been able to do this on his own. As Ariel got closer, he took a deep to get rid of the butterflies in his stomach. It didn't work, but all the same, he held his flipper out for Ariel to take.

"Ariel." Ariel put her flipper in his.

"Hi Kowalski. You look amazing." Ariel said, smiling. She didn't know why, but since the moment she saw Kowalski waiting for her, she couldn't stop smiling.

"Not as amazing as you look. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou are more lovely and more temperate. Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer's lease hath all too short a date. Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines, and often is his gold complexion dimmed; and every fair from fair sometime declines, by chance, or nature's changing course untrimmed. But thy eternal summer shall not fade; nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st; nor shall Death brag thou wand'rest in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou grow'st. So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee."

"Oh Kowalski. William Shakespeare. That's so sweet." Ariel grabbed both of Kowalski's flippers and stared into his eyes.

"If you two love birds are ready, we should get going." Skipper said while holding Marlene's paw. Ariel and Kowalski looked back to the other couple and smiled, forgetting that the other couple was there.

"Yeah we're ready." Kowalski said looking back to Ariel, still holding her flipper and smiled again.

"Yeah let's go…but you still haven't told me where we're going." Ariel said still looking up at him.

"You'll have to wait and see." Kowalski said pulling her towards the zoo exit right behind Skipper and Marlene. After a few minutes of walking, the group made to the zoo exit where the penguins car was waiting. But it didn't have pink flowers on it anymore. It had been remodeled to look like a 2010 Mustang convertible. Ariel and Marlene gasped. It was so pretty! The two girls walked up to the car with their dates close behind. It was bight red with a working convertible top. And it now had five seats instead of four. Ariel and Marlene looked over the car, speechless. Finally, Ariel looked back to Kowalski who had a smug smile on his face, obviously proud of his work.

"Kowalski! What did you do to the car?!?" Ariel asked excitedly.

"Well I needed to make some modification so that there would be enough space for you so I decided to remodel the whole car while I was at it." Kowalski said, still smiling.

"Well you did a great job! It's looks amazing!"

"Thank you. Now," Kowalski walked over to the passenger side door and opened it. "Shall we?"

"We shall." Ariel said as she climbed into the shotgun of the car. Skipper and Marlene jumped in the back and Kowalski walked around to the other side and got in the drivers seat. Earlier that day, Skipper had suggested that Kowalski drive the car. Kowalski was a little apprehensive at first but Skipper had convinced him.

"Ready?" Kowalski asked.

"Ready." Ariel said confidently back. And with that, the car took off. Kowalski swerved the car down the sidewalk going as fast as the newly remodeled engine could go. He made a sharp left, causing the tires to screech and spin out. Once the car regain traction, it barreled down the street at top speed again. Ariel threw her head back and laughed. This was the best date she had ever been on and she had only been on it for six minuets. Kowalski suddenly took a sharp right turn, into Central Park. Kowalski brought the car to a sudden and complete stop. Ariel screeched in enjoyment.

"Kowalski that was so fun!" Ariel yelled. Kowalski got out of the car and opened Ariel's door.

"I think you're going to have more fun here." Kowalski said Ariel got out of the car and took his flipper. Ariel looked around and saw that they were in the middle of Central Park.

"What are we doing in Central Park?"

"I told you, you'll have to wait and see."

"Alright, alright." Ariel followed Kowalski until they reached a small gazebo, strung with lights. Off to the side, sat a boom box. Ariel looked up to Kowalski in astonishment. Was this what she thought it was?

"What is this?" Ariel asked breathlessly.

"It's a dance floor."

"A…a dance floor? You…you can dance?"

"Took five years of dancing when I was a child." Kowalski said. He smiled as he pulled Ariel towards the dance floor. Skipper smiled as the pair walked up on the dance floor.

"Kowalski, Ariel. Marlene and I are going to go for a walk around Central Park. We'll be back soon."

"Alright Skipper." Kowalski answered without looking away from Ariel. Skipper and Marlene walked away from well-lit dance floor and into the darkness until they were completely out of site. Ariel looked away from Kowalski to watch the other couple disappear into the night. She looked back to Kowalski and giggled.

"So are we gonna dance or what?"

"Oh right." Kowalski said. He walked over to the boom box and hit the play button and slow song began to play. Kowalski reached his flipper out for Ariel to take. Ariel softly rested her flipper on his as they walked to the middle of the gazebo. Once they got to the middle, Kowalski grabbed Ariel's other flipper and they began to spin in a circle as the first lyrics began to play.

'_May it be, an evening star, shines down upon you.' _Kowalski dipped Ariel down and when he lifted her up, she began to spin on her own. When she stopped, she was facing Kowalski and then she reached her flipper out to him. Kowalski spun towards her and when he stopped, he placed his flipper in hers and they began to spin together again. They stopped and slid smoothly across the floor. Kowalski pulled Ariel closer spun around the edge of the dance floor. Ariel buried her face into Kowalski shoulder as he gracefully led her around the dance floor. Ariel leaned back a little to look up at Kowalski. He smiled at her as they began to spin again. Ariel leaned back a little more and Kowalski lifted his flipper and Ariel began to spin, still holding on to Kowalski's flipper. As the part of the song began to play, Ariel let go of Kowalski's flipper and spun to the middle of the dance floor. _'A promise lives within you now. A promise lives within you now.' _Ariel stopped as the last lyrics sung out. As the coda (A/N: 'Closing passage' for you non-musicians) started to come to an end, Ariel spun back to where Kowalski was waiting and wrapped her flippers around him just as the song ended.

Even though the song had ended, Kowalski and Ariel did not move from their embrace for a long time. Finally, Ariel looked up at Kowalski and smiled.

"Kowalski…this has been the best night of my life." Kowalski smiled down at her.

"You are the best thing in my life." Kowalski said. Ariel could feel tears of happiness running down her face. She smiled up Kowalski one moment longer and then she pulled him closer and pressed her beak to his just as the clock tolled twelve midnight.

_**~The End~**_

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***Wild cheers and screaming***** YAY! WOO! OH YEAH! Well there you have it. The finale to my very first Fanfic! I really hope you liked it! I know I did! :D Anyways, the lyrics I put in there were from the song **_**'May it be'**_** by Enya. A cookie to anyone who knew that! XD If you haven't heard that song, please look it up and listen to it because it really is a beautiful song. And now to roll the credits!**

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**Story plot by:**** ME!**

**Story written by:**** ME!**

**Story uploaded by:**** ME!**

**Story researched by:**** ME! (Yes I did do research on this story!)**

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**Owners:**

**DreamWorks (The Penguins of Madagascar)**

**ME! (O/C: Ariel)**

**Enya (Song: **_**'May it be'**_**)**

**Anyone whose ideas that may have been stolen throughout story**

**Any unaccredited ideas that were used throughout story**

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**Special thanks:**

**Everyone who reviewed my story**

**Anyone who took their time to read my story**

**Anyone who actually took their time to read the credits**

**Every single person who loved my story**

**Give yourselves a round of applause! Yay for the audience! *****Claps wildly***** **

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**Okay, so the sequel to this story is now up! Get excited people! :D**

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**Thank you aaannnd good night! **


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